


No More Stuffed Bears

by SushiOwl



Category: Community
Genre: Arcophobia, Carnival, Ferris Wheel, Gen, Study Room
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-21
Updated: 2012-08-21
Packaged: 2017-11-12 14:19:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/492119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SushiOwl/pseuds/SushiOwl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jeff feels a pang of guilt that Shirley didn't enjoy the last time they went to a carnival.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No More Stuffed Bears

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Alzire](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Alzire).



> My best friend and role play partner, because she ships this so hard.

Jeff assumed that the rest of the group was talking about the latest offensive thing Pierce said, the fact that Chang had shown up and scared Troy into almost peeing himself the other day, or maybe even Sociology, the class they were all in and supposedly studying for. He didn't know. He was busy texting a girl he had met the other night. They had been sexting, but then his phone had auto-corrected one of his words into "puppy" and now he had to assure her that no, he really wasn't into that.

Suddenly Troy gave a high-pitched scream, and he looked up to find that he'd dove under the table and everyone else was staring behind Jeff in horrified silence. "What, is the Slender Man behind me?" he asked slowly.

"Worse," Abed said in a serious whisper.

Slowly Jeff turned and found that yes, it was worse. 

It was a clown. And it wasn't just any clown. It was the Dean, wearing some kind of clown outfit meant for ladies on Halloween. So it was a puffed skirt all colors of the rainbow with harlequin stockings and sequin high heels. The worst was the makeup. It was a giant frozen smile, teeth painted over his lips and all. It was something straight out of everyone's nightmares.

"Oh no," the Dean said, looking briefly puzzled. "I forgot my greeting because Troy startled me."

"I startled _you?_ " Troy asked from under the table, appalled.

"Whatever. I just wanted to let you all know that the carnival is back!" He set his hands on his hips and jutted his weight to one side. "And they're looking for extras to walk around and direct people to rides. What do you think?"

"Is there a Funhouse?" Britta asked softly, her eyes still wide.

"Probably," the Dean side, considering it as he tapped his lips with his fingers. "We'll see. Tootles!" He sashayed out, and there were a few startled shrieks from other students.

Everyone looked at each other, and Troy slowly rose up to sit back in his chair. His expression was a mixture things, as if he was daring anyone to make fun of him and yet ready to retreat should the Dean come back. 

Shirley cleared her throat, before she looked around at everyone. "Well, that weirdness aside, the carnival's back. Maybe this time I can go on some of the rides instead of just going home with a a dozen cheap stuffed bears that smell like fried butter." She shot a brief look to Jeff, who pretended to be very interested in his phone. "Why don't we all go together?"

"I can't, what if Blade is there?" Britta asked, looking down at the table and fidgeting with her binder.

"Aw, Britta, aren't you over him?" Annie asked in that sweet tone of hers.

"Why don't you have Pierce hypnotize you so you can't think about him without retching?" Jeff suggested, putting his phone in his pocket.

"I have a new technique. It involves a hot tub and three or four of your closest busty female friends," Pierce volunteered.

Britta rolled her eyes, not even dignifying that with a response. She turned a glare on Jeff. "Maybe I'll have him make it so I think of your forehead every time I think of Blade. That'll sure kill any ladyboners."

"Ew!" Annie exclaimed.

Troy's eyes grew impossibly wide. "Those exist?"

Jeff looked away, reaching up and self-consciously rubbing his forehead. It wasn't that big!

"Okaaaay, Britta's out," Shirley started, trying to get back on topic. "What about everyone else?"

"I'll hang out with you tonight, Britta. We can watch a movie that doesn't say Blade's name in every sentence," Annie said, smiling at her.

"Thanks, Annie," Britta replied, the corner of her mouth twitching up.

"Right. Troy, Abed?" Shirley asked.

They looked at each other, before they nodded. "Blade marathon," they said in unison. 

Pierce mumbled an excuse about having other plans, but they all knew the carnival was ruined for him without his little Chinese buddy.

Shirley gave a low-pitched sigh. "No rides this year. Again."

Jeff's brow furrowed and he felt a weight on his chest. After the study session was done, and they all went their separate ways, he looped around the library to head her off in a hall. "Shirley," he said as he jogged up beside her.

"Yes, Jeffrey?" she asked in that lilting way of hers, though there wasn't as much sugar and sass behind it as usual.

"I'll go to the carnival with you," he said, and she stopped, looking up at him with her brows knotted together. "And not because I want to get a look at Blade this time. Last time we went, you didn't have fun, and that's my fault."

"Damn right it is."

He groaned. "Do you want to go or not?"

She was quiet for a while, just staring at him. "Alright, fine, but I get to pick the rides, and you have to buy me a hotdog. Carnival foods are laced with something, I don't know what, but it's good."

"And totally worth the five dollars," he agreed begrudgingly.

They met on the carnival grounds later that night, and Jeff was determined to be a good date. He even put his phone on vibrate! That was big for him.

Shirley put her hand around his elbow, looking around excitedly. "Oh, oh, can we go on one of the spinning rides? Or should we get food first?"

Jeff was already mourning for his hair. "Probably ride first. Minimal projectiles."

"Smart thinking," she agreed, before she dragged him into the line. "Oh, I'm so excited. Every time there was a carnival around, I was either pregnant or had little kids to tend to."

"Must be nice to have a Mr Mom at home, huh?"

She gave a little squealing laugh, quickly covering her mouth and getting control over herself. "Yeah, it is. It really is."

He smiled at her, unable to help from finding her beautiful when she was so happy. The ride was terrible. Shirley gripped the spinning wheel like a vice, turning it with surprising strength, and it was all he could do to focus on her and not look at the blur of people around them.

"Okay, hotdogs!" Shirley announced when it was over, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the food carts.

How could she think about food? He was almost sure his stomach and intestines had been liquidated, and his heart was clinging to his ribcage for dear life. But he bought two hotdogs and two drinks for them anyway. Once he could walk straight, he started to feel better.

The house of mirrors was a cool experience until he found a mirror that made his forehead look the size of his torso. Shirley commented that they must have put a normal mirror in by mistake, and he halfheartedly glared at her as she laughed. The next mirror that gave them pause caused them both to look really tall and rail thin.

"I don't know if this is a good look for me," she said, turning this way and that.

He gave a 'pff' noise. "You look great now, and you'd look great no matter what," he told her.

She looked at him with surprise on her face, and he stared back. They gazed at each other for a long moment, before she blinked and turned away. "I think we're almost to the exit," she said, putting her arm around his again.

He was thankful for it, because he didn't think he could take it if they got weird around each other. Well, weirder than usual.

The next attraction they came across was a three story high Ferris Wheel, and the creaking of it gave Jeff pause. "Why don't we go on the little roller-coaster?" he suggested, because its cars were closer to the ground.

She looked up at him and lifted a brow. "Why, Jeffrey, are you scared of heights?"

He gave an overly dramatic guffaw at the very thought, before he pulled her into the line. "I am not scared! Here! I'll prove it to you." As they reached the front of the line and were about to step into the car, he stopped to talk to the attendant. "Hey man, can you stop it at the top for us?"

"Sure, bro," said the carnie, his eyes far away and half-lidded. That was reassuring.

Still he had got into the Ferris Wheel car and shut the door, sitting next to Shirley as she practically vibrated with excitement. When the wheel gave a jerky movement, he started, his hands finding something to grasp. One hand gripped the seat and the other somehow found one of Shirley's. She glanced at his hand, and he was about to take it away when she closed her fingers around his and set their hands on her knee, before she covered their hands with her other one. He turned his eyes to her face, but she was looking out the window with a smile.

Eventually the Ferris began to turn in a way that wouldn't cause shaken baby syndrome, and the rotation was almost soothing with the gentle rocking and Shirley petting his hand. Finally they stopped at the top, and Shirley let out a quiet gasp. He assumed she was in awe of all the tiny people below them, as well as the lights and the joy she could see, but he wasn't positive. He had closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the seat, counting quietly in his head.

Suddenly he felt a pair of lips on his cheek, and he opened his eyes as Shirley pulled away from him and patted his hand. "What was that for?" he asked with a confused smile.

"For being so sweet and coming with me," she said with a shrug. "And for coming on this ride even though you don't like heights."

"I'm not afraid of heights, I told you--"

"I know, I know," she said, squeezing his hand and looking back out the window. "But doing something you're afraid of just for a friend makes you the bravest person in the world."

He gazed at her profile for a moment, before he leaned his head on her shoulder. "You really are the only person that understands me," he told her with a sigh.

She gave a soft 'mm' in agreement.


End file.
